A Special Gift
by blackkitty479
Summary: When you are not immortal anymore, birthdays are literally hell. Unless someone gives you a very special gift...Written for the Teslen July challenge, "Nikola's Birthday".
1. Chapter 1

**This is for the July challenge, **_**Nikola's Birthday. **_**I will try to upload the second and last chapter as soon as possible, maybe even today. Hope you'll like it!**

Nikola hardly decided to wake up that morning. He puffed with disgust when he saw the date on the calendar: the 10th of July. His 154th birthday. He had never liked his birthdays too much, but now, since he was mortal, every birthday meant one more year of his life gone. One more year lost for nothing. As for receiving a birthday present…He doubted someone will give him one. And even if they did, he knew that nobody could give him what he wanted. Or better said, _who_ he wanted, because he discovered with surprise that on his birthday, he didn't wish to be immortal again. He just wished to have someone to love him. And not anyone, but the woman who had been hunting his thoughts for over a century. Before her, he had never thought that he can love somebody, because he had always known he was so much better than the others. And because of that, no one had understood him. No girl had understood his passion for science, his desire to discover all the mysteries of the world. Until he met her and fell madly in love. Her blue eyes were the ones that had broken the veil of shadows that protected him for being hurt.

She had always been an enigma to him. The only one he hadn't been able to unravel. So beautiful, so innocent and yet so passionate about her work, so ready to die to defend her causes…Back in the 1880s, they had become so close to each other, and yet she was so far away from him. And afterwards, that bastard took her away from him. What was worse was that he had made her suffer in a way beyond words. When she had broken up with him, Nikola had secretly hoped that they would have a chance to be together. But instead, she isolated herself from the others. She had become obsessed with her work and she had built walls around her. A shield around her heart that he hadn't been able to break. Soon she left London, running away from The Five, from him, not willing to let him ease her pain. He would have been her shoulder to cry on, but letting him do that just wasn't her. So he went in the States, trying to forget her. But how could have he done that, when she was the one that had changed his life so much? She was the one that had helped him discover who he really was and what was even more important, she was the one that had helped him accept it. They kept in touch, occasionally sending letters to each other, but nothing more.

However, in the previous two years, things had gotten better between them. He had even confessed his feelings for her, but the look on her face when he had told her that he loved her was one of complete shock. She obviously hadn't expected that, although he had kissed her…Sure, it had been a cheeky kiss, but that didn't change the fact that their lips had touched, even if only for two seconds.

To have her, to have the chance of kissing her again…that would have clearly made his birthday a little more tolerable.

But she wasn't going to be with him. She was probably taking care of her pets as usually. Maybe having a little fun with the children. After all, she probably saw him as a friend, and nothing more. Although she had seemed very sad when he had lost his powers. So sad, that for a moment he had thought that she loves him. But he was too sad to say or do anything. And after that, when he had discovered his new powers, he was so eager to test them that he didn't want to ask her about her feelings for him. He was too happy that he wasn't ordinary and didn't want a negative answer to shadow his happiness. And now, she was probably gone forever…

His thoughts were interrupted by a fluttering of wings at his window. He went to see what was happening and saw a pigeon sitting on the window sash.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood today." Nikola said, thinking that it was one of the pigeons he used to feed. However, the little bird wasn't going to give up too easily. It knocked in the window with its beak until Nikola finally decided to open the window.

"Listen, I told you I'm not in the mood today. I want to be alone. I don't have any food anyway."

The pigeon flew away and he thought that he had gotten rid of it. But soon it was back, this time carrying an envelope in its beak.

"Is that for me?" The pigeon cooed affirmatively, so he took the envelope and opened it. It contained a hand written note:

_Happy Birthday Nikola! Since today is your birthday, I would like you to come over my place tonight. Let's say, around 8 pm? I don't want you to spend this day alone and besides I have a surprise for you, so I would be very happy if you would come._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_One of your old friends._

"Well, that was…unexpected." He said after he finished reading the letter. The pigeon flew around in his room and then sat on his shoulder. Nikola gently cuddled it on the back and it cooed affectionately.

"You sure are closer to me than your master is. Can you send her a message from me?" Saying this, he turned his face to the small bird, trying to give it a little kiss, but it flew away again, only this time it didn't come back.

Left alone in his room, Nikola couldn't help smiling to himself. That little pigeon had obviously learned some things from Helen. Because even if the note wasn't signed, he knew damn well who had sent it. Maybe his birthday wasn't going to be so bad after all…


	2. Chapter 2

**And there I was, trying to write a nice fic for the July challenge, when the idea of a chocolate cake made my mind go a little crazy with this last chapter...I hope you'll like it anyway!**

* * *

It was almost 8 o'clock pm when Nikola arrived at the Sanctuary. He knocked hesitantly at the door, still not knowing if he had done the right thing by coming. Of course he wanted to see her, but he was still wondering why she had invited him.

"Happy birthday, Nikola." She said, gently opening the door. "Come in."

He silently listened to her, stepping inside. "My God, Helen, you are simply breath-taking." He said. And he was absolutely right. She was wearing a blue dress which matched her eyes perfectly. A dress that was short enough to show off her tantalizing long legs. Her hair was raised up in a loop, except for two curls that fell down her porcelain face and ended right above her chin.

"If I hadn't known you better, I would say you dressed up like that for me." he said with a smirk that made her knees tremble. He had always been devilishly handsome, but seeing him as he stood there, one hand on his hip, his hair ruffled as usually, made her crazy. Nikola had always had a special effect on her, but in the last two years, she found out with surprise that it was getting harder and harder to focus and to stop herself from doing something stupid when he was around.

"Don't be silly." She said, biting her lip to stop herself from blushing. There was absolutely no need for him to know that she had spent inexplicably long time trying to decide what to wear.

She went to her office, with Nikola following her closely, none of them daring to open the conversation.

"How are you feeling, Nikola?" she asked in a soft tone when they arrived. She didn't dare to think how he felt now that he was mortal and he practically had no reason to be happy that it was his birthday.

He let himself fall on the couch and sighed. "Miserable."

"Listen, Nikola, I know that you are mortal now and you think that every birthday means one more year of your life lost, but it's not exactly like that. You have to learn to take joy of the small things in life. "

"Helen, I am not sad because it's my birthday, I'm sad because this means one more year of my life in which I didn't do anything to get what I really want. This is what kills me."

"Well, you were pretty close of world domination last time. You just didn't take all the variables into account, but you sure know how to be a thorn in my side." She joked, trying to make him feel better.

As sad as he was, he couldn't help smiling. "Well, I am doing my best."

"I would expect nothing less of you, Mr. Tesla." She teased him, happy that she found something to bring the sparkle she loved so much back in his eyes.

"The only problem is that I didn't mean world domination. That's not what I want the most."

"What is it, then?"

"The proper question, Helen, would be _who_ I want."

The Big Guy arrived, bringing them a chocolate cake and a bottle of wine, giving her the opportunity to pretend she hadn't heard his last words.

"Enough talking, Nikola. It's time to blow the candles and make a wish."

He scoffed silently when he heard her. He wasn't the type that believed in superstitions, but having her so close to him, dressed like that, had made him picture some very creative images. So he blew the candles, giving her a look that told her his wish was clearly involving her somehow.

"For the record, I don't believe in this kind of things." He muttered.

"Ever the optimist I see. Join me in a toast." She said, and when he raised his glass, she continued "To the small things that make our life worth living."

"To the things we want so much that we don't realize they are right in front of us." He added.

"And last but not the least, to mortality. Because it teaches us... it teaches us how much we need someone." She was almost crying when she finished.

"Amen." Nikola couldn't help wondering if the last part of her toast wasn't somehow related to him.

"Now, let me show you your birthday present." She said and handed him a small box. He opened it with a surprised look and discovered that inside there was a key.

"The key to your heart, perhaps?" he asked on a cheeky tone.

"You'd wish." She said harshly. "No. It is the key to your laboratory."

"My laboratory?"

"Yes. Here, at the Sanctuary. I want you to stay and work with me."

"For how long?"

"As long as you want, Nikola. I wanted to show you another way of handling life. I am offering you the chance to work with people that understand you and that wish to help you. People that are your friends."

"Friends…" he said smiling sadly. "And I'm guessing that includes you too right?"

"Yes."

"So you basically decided to give me the chance to work here because you finally realized that you are madly in love with me and that you want me so badly you can't possibly imagine another day of your life without having me around?" It was a question he just had to ask her before accepting her offer. He made it sound like a cheeky joke, because he didn't want her to know how much he cared about her reply, but there was absolutely nothing that could have prepared him for what followed. Before she could stop them, her lips split, letting go of a single word that freed her from all the feelings she had kept hidden for so many years:"Yes."

He didn't answer, so she let her eyes feast with his incredibly sexy sight. They explored his face, from those steel blue eyes that seemed to be able to read the deepest layers of her soul to those smirking lips she wanted to taste. (Dear God, how much she wanted to taste them!)

"What did you say, Helen?" he asked, unable to believe his ears.

"You have a little chocolate cream on your lower lip." She said, hoping that her moment of weakness hadn't been noticed.

His mischievous smile was nothing if not suggestive. "Would you mind helping me with this?"

She covered the distance between them, and before she could know it, her lips began dancing on his mouth. Their lips started a dangerous game of teasing, as she sensually licked the chocolate off his lower lip. _For God's sake, what was she doing?_ Their kiss seemed so forbidden, so strange, but it felt incredibly right, her mind registered during a pause she had made in order to breathe. A pause that Nikola didn't appreciate too much. Because now, after he had tasted her in a way that he hadn't even dared to dream it was possible, he wasn't going to let her stop too soon…

He tilted her face up, forcing her mouth to come dangerously close to his and soon after, his luscious lips sensually coaxed a response from hers. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop opening her mouth and letting his tongue explore it on the inside. Helen moaned in delight as she relished his touch, his smell and his taste of chocolate and wine. It was a combination that not even she could resist…The perfect definition of the term "guilty pleasure"…

He let her lips go as his own descended down her neck and gave her a kiss right on her pulse point. She gasped as his mouth explored her exposed neck and his teeth touched her soft skin. (_Some things never change_, she thought.) His lips went up, kissing their way on her chin, until they conquered her mouth once more.

A long time after, their lips parted with a muffled protest from his part as the two made a pause to get some air. She took a deep breath as she gazed at the man whose expert lips had rendered her speechless.

"You know, I only wanted you to give me a napkin or something." He said with a devilish smirk.

She couldn't help smiling. That man was incorrigible. "Was that a complaint?" she asked on an offended tone.

"No, by all means no."

"So, are you going to stay here?"

"I think so. You can be incredibly convincing sometimes."

"Good. I had prepared you a guest room if you want to get some sleep."

"Helen, I forgot to ask you something. Where are the children?"

"They are not here. Will is at some psychological convention and Henry took Kate to some stupid Comic Con."

"Well, Helen, in that case, my plans for tonight won't be involving too much sleep. It would be a waste of ti-"

"Nikola?" she called his name, deliberately avoiding his gaze while she playfully dipped her finger into the chocolate cream on her slice of cake and then licked it suggestively.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

His smirk couldn't have been sexier. "That, I can do." Their lips met once more, making him sure of the fact that this was one birthday he wasn't going to forget too soon…


End file.
